Hiding and showing information: the challenges of combining scientific data from the public and private domain

Hiding and showing informationThe challenges of combining scientific data from the public and private domain

Esther Jansma

2

Weather (temperature and precipitation)

Light conditions (photosynthesis)

Soil (hydrology)

Events (insect outbreaks, forest fires, human impacts)

Tree growth: annual tree-ring width

3

Tree-ring measurements

Matching undated patterns with dated reference chronologies

DDF00101

-5801 -5751 -5701 -5651 -5601 -5551

5801 BC 5751 BC 5701 BC 5651 BC

Subfossil oaks 6th millennium BC, Province of Friesland (De Deelen)

Applications in the Humanities: Dating

5

Living tree21st century

Building17th century

Ship wreck9th century

Roman road2nd century

Building tree-ring reference chronologies

6

Determining the origin of wood

Middelcurve Batavia ABA12340 DETRENDED

Middelcurve Batavia ABA12340

ABA00031

ABA00021

ABA00041

ABA00011

1300 1350 1400 1450 1500 1550 1600 1650 1700

Hull planks from Dutch East India vessel De Batavia

Polish reference chronologie (blue)

Applications in the Humanities: Provenancing

7

Determining how wood was processed

Doors from cabin of Roman barge ‘De Meern 1’: 1 plank

Applications in the Humanities: Technology

Establishing clearing, thinning, coppicing etc.

Trees of Roman bridge Cuyk –Middelaar felled in AD 367/68

Increased growth of remaining trees in this forest{

400350300250200

Applications in the Humanities: interaction with environment

• Physical Geography: landscape and vegetation reconstructtion

• Biogeology: chronological and spatial variations of weather in the past, climate reconstruction

Applications in the Earth and Life Sciences

Applications: using large data sets

Annually resolved variations of May to June temperature between 1040 and 2011 AD in Eastern Europe

Tree rings reveal climate variability and human history

Büntgen, U. et al. (2013): Filling the Eastern European gap in millennium-long temperature reconstructions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA doi:10.1073/pnas.1211485110

11

Wood sources

12

Wood sources

13

Wood sources

Organization of cultural dendrochronology

15

16

A future scenario…

Organization of dendrochronologyData

17

Organization of dendrochronology

Verifyable data and results?

18

Organization of dendrochronology

data mining?

19

Solution: digitizing, standardizing and connecting data for verification and reuse

The DCCD projectStrategy

Phase 1: inventary of needs, developing concepts and network (workshops, questionaires, interviews)Start-up subsidy NWO/GW IM 2006-2007

Phase 2: development of infrastructure and content Low CountriesSubsidy NWO/GW IM 2007-2012

Phase 3: internationalization, research and publication; EU-fundingSubsidy NWO/GW IG 2010-2013

20

Strategy

Standardization and exchange of data and metadata

Stustainable repository focussed on cultural and natural heritage

Intersectoral collaboration (within the discipline and with other fields, nationally and internationally)

While doing this: involve and be aware of the whishes and needs of the private sector


21

Model of the DCCD infrastructure

Software (PC)

Digitaldata standard

The DCCD projectProducts

Archive

Communicationplatforms

22

Infrastructure realized in 2012

TRiDaS

The DCCD projectProducts


Participants

Academics, research assistants, PhD students, company directors/co-workers, public servants (NL, BE, UK, DE, FR, PL, DK, LT, LI, AU, SL, USA, SP)

Strategy: Dutch ‘polder model’

• Have meetings, develop data model and research together, get financial support for key parties who otherwise cannot (continue to) participate, stress scientific and financial gain, share results

• Let authors of data remain data owner, make sure your data model and digital repository allow the hiding and unlocking of information (e.g., layered data model).

24

Content 26 February 2013

4875 projects5301 objects>50.000 time series

• palaeo-ecology• archaeology• architecture• mobile heritage• living trees

The DCCD projectContent

Grabner BOKU University AU 122

Hoffsummer Liege University BE 255

Fraiture IRPAKIK (public sector) BE 215

Haneca Flemish Heritage (public sector) BE 133

Pressler Pressler GmbH (company) D 607

Tegel Dendronet (company) FR 122

Lambert Liege University, CNRS (combination)

FR 99

Pukiene Vytautas Magnus University LT 20

Zunde Institute of Latvian History (public sector)

LV 12

Jansma RCE, RING Foundation, Utrecht University (combination)

NL 2223

Van Daalen BAAC bv (company) NL 865

Cufar Ljubljana University SL 7

Suspereggi Arkeolan (company) SP 16

Brown Queens University Belfast UK 148

Tyers English Heritage (public sector) UK 27

Kuniholm Cornell University USA 4


26

Geographical distribution: heritage type

Heritage type

Archaeology (n=1769) Architecture (n=2410)

Ship wrecks (n=288) Paintings (n=327)


27

Wood species

Geographical distribution: wood species

Oak (n=4397) Pine (n=270)

Spruce (n=156) Fir (n=258)


28

6000 – 2000 BC(n=71)

2000 – 1 BC(n=214)

1 – 1000 AD(n=520)

1000 – present(n=2386)

Age (calendar dates)

Geographical distribution: time interval

projectContent

29

The tree-ring repository is growing

- Finland: dendrochronologists are switching to new data standard TRiDaS

- Commercial software: incorporating TRiDaS

- Software USA: first open source TRiDaS-based measuring and analytic system has been lauched (TELLERVO)

- and…

The DCCD projectRecent developments

Support for DCCDEurope and USA

30

The DCCD projectRecent developments

Support for DCCDEU, through DANS

ARIADNE EU 7th framework

Combines and integrates existing archaeological research data infrastructures so that researchers can use the various distributed datasets and new and powerful technologies as an integral component of the archaeological research methodology.

Challenges of the projectTechnical• Multi-lingual aspects (queries)• Evolving data model

Judicial• Different laws in different countries: ‘Freedom of Information Act’ (UK, USA) versus no strict rules

Project-related (after the development phase has ended)• Keep ‘external’ participants active:

joined research and publicationsimprove the infrastructure (facilities and content)help participants (mail, phone)

• Keep support of own organization: make digital connectionspublish in visible media

The DCCD projectChallenges

The DCCD projectNew Research

Roman period

33

The DCCD projectNew research

Roman periodTwo millennia ago…

34


Roman periodDe Meern 1: AD 150 - 200

35


Roman periodDe Meern 4: AD 100

36


Roman periodClustered data 100 BC-450 AD

37

De Meern 4 + cabin doors De Meern 1: Flemish timberHypothesis: Roman coastal infrastructure (water)


Roman periodNew: a Flemish connection


16th-17th century AD

16th-17th century ADOak from the Ardennes

Architecture (roof)

Ship wreck

Barrel

Architecture (foundation)





Chronologies of four different labs, different structures and objects

16th-17th century ADOak from the Ardennes: absolute dates

16th-17th century ADArdennes timber: Dutch revolt1568-1648

Soldiers Plundering a FarmhouseSebastian Vrancx (1573-1647)painted c. 1600(from: Child 2001)

16th-17th century ADArdennes timber: Dutch revolt1568-1648

Felling seasonLeiden: 75% in spring after the logging season

Wood transport- accross territorial boundaries

1592

1585

1622

In addition to this workNew research funding NWO Humanities

2012-2017 (UU)

The Dark Age of the Lowlands

1. Occupation patterns and land use

2. Natural landscape evolution

3. Climate and vegetation changes


New researchEarly Middle Ages

Conclusion

The DCCD infrasctucture has improved

• International data standardization

• Access to and sustainable management of these data

• New research questions and results

• Research funding

The DCCD project

DCCD repository: http://dendro.dans.knaw.nl (DANS)

Digital Collaboration Platform www.uu.nl/vkc/dendrochronology (UU)

Public webpages about DCCD-based projects

DCCD user information and FAQ’s

Links to TRiDaS-based software for PC and all source code

Environment for further developing controlled vocabularies

Tree-Ring Data Standard, TRiDaS: www.tridas.org

My adress: [email protected]

Het DCCD projectWebsites

Documents

Hiding and showing information: the challenges of combining scientific data from the public and private domain